A Matter of Time
by WeAreAllMadeOfStars
Summary: 11 year old orphan Oscar is suspiciously similar to two famous figures in the wizarding past - Tom Riddle and Harry Potter...When he gets accepted into Hogwarts which path will he take?
1. The Coast

**A/N: I started writing this story on here but it didn't work. Here is the good version, please read and review! Hope you like it :)**

1. The Coast

Eagle House was the worst children's home in all of Northwood, which was not a large area at all, and was not really particularly close to anything of any importance. That was why a trip to Foulness Island, the nearest coastal area, was an adventure beyond anything the children had ever dreamed of. The idea first came to Preston Bales, Eagle House's Director of Residential Treatment, when an advertisement in the newspaper was pointed out to him by his colleague. Supposedly Foulness Island was a quiet place, out of the way, and very cheap with the promise of two weeks of peace. Mr Bales immediately booked out the youth hostel in pursuit of some peace; something that was extremely rare for someone working in a children's home. Hopefully this trip would mean that, for two of the long summer weeks, he would not have to constantly look after children. Mr Bales hated children. They were untidy, irritating and immensely unpleasant creatures, and the poor, orphaned children who lived at Eagle House were the worst of the worst. Mr Bales was sure that not one of them knew manners or ordinary behaviour. As a result of this, no children had been adopted from Eagle House for just over eleven years.

Unfortunately, because Eagle House was situated in Greater London, Mr Bales had to endure the one hour and forty minute train journey to get to Foulness Island. To make matters more disagreeable, he was forced to sit opposite one of the children, an eleven year old boy named Oscar.

At first Mr Bales refused, but Oscar was one of the quieter children and had nowhere else to sit. Luckily Oscar kept his mouth shut, and chose to instead stare out of the carriage window with an unreadable expression on his face. Mr Bales did not know this child very well at all, and could not for the life of him even remember Oscar's surname. Little did he know that by the end of the two weeks, Oscar would have made a lasting impression on everyone at the children's home, and particularly Mr Bales.

For the first half hour, Mr Bales kept his old clouded eyes to the words on the pages of his book, trying to stay oblivious to the raucous behaviour of most of the children. He allowed Mr Ebbs, a younger member of staff, to deal with any errant children because after all this was supposed to be his peaceful two weeks. Eventually the book became boring; he could not concentrate on the words with the racket going on around him. His eyes strayed to watch the boy opposite him, who was now fiddling with his fingers. Mr Bales sighed inwardly. This boredom would never end.

'You, boy. What are you doing?' he asked bad-temperedly. Oscar's eyes flashed up to stare at Mr Bales.

'Nothing, sir.' he replied, placing his hands on the table between them.

'Good,' Mr Bales replied, and they lapsed into another silence. He exhaled through his nose, and reopened the book. In his peripheral vision he could see Oscar turn his head slightly to look fixedly out at the darkening land.

Much later in the day, Mr Bales let out a sigh of contentment from his small, ugly, second-floor room, as the sun was just setting over the North Sea outside his window. The room was lit up with the dusky glow from the pale, overcast sky. Mr Bales shuffled over to the peeling armchair in the corner, arthritic joints clicking, and sat down heavily. He soon became absorbed in the book again without any distractions, and was completely unaware of the strange happenings just below his window.

Down on the white stony beach, there was a loud crack as someone appeared out of the air. It was a tall figure, with a long navy cloak billowing in the violent wind as though they were about to take flight. The man shook his dark shoulder length hair out of his face, already slightly damp from the sea spray. He stared up at the derelict building with inky blue eyes and then turned to look behind him at the rough sea, as though he was waiting for something or someone important. Eventually, another form emerged from the fog of darkness that was swirling around the beach. It was another tall man, this one shabbier, in a brown suit. Again, he seemed to materialise from the air itself.

The man in navy turned to the noise as the other appeared, although no one else could hear the loud sound over the roaring wind.

'Shall we go inside?' the suited man called in a deep voice. They proceeded to stride over the rocks and somehow opened the locked door to the run-down shed next to the building. It was dark inside, filled with boxes and tools and very dusty. The first man closed the door against the winds and suddenly it was very quiet and very pitch black.

'How has your summer been, Ernest?' asked the man in navy, speaking through the darkness as though it was normal.

'Shall we get some light in here?' replied Ernest, as he took something out of his pocket which filled the room with light and cast shadows across his well-defined cheekbones. He had the look of a poor business man, with patches on his suit and short combed hair. At most, he was thirty-five. 'That's much better.' he nodded.

'Thank you. How was your summer?' the other man repeated.

'As usual, Archie. You know how it is.' he replied.

Archie offered him a small, apologetic smile.

'Of course, I forgot.' he said. Archie was younger than Ernest, with a small amount of stubble on his jaw and broad shoulders.

'So, when are we going to give the boy the letter?' Ernest asked, as though Archie were his senior.

'Hm…I was thinking we could perhaps just leave it on his bag, or something?' he pondered hopefully. Ernest shook his head.

'You know that can't happen. The boy won't understand. He's only eleven. And imagine the consequences if somebody else got hold of the letter.'

Archie sighed. 'This is all so much more difficult than I thought it would be.'

'You mean the job?' questioned Ernest.

'Of course. Everything hinges upon me nowadays.' he replied sorrowfully.

'Headmaster was always going to be difficult. Just remember, I'm your deputy. So I'm always here for you to lean on.'

'Thanks, Ernest.' sighed Archie.

'Now, shall we give that child his letter?'

'In person?'

'Indeed.'

Ernest stopped leaning against the pile of cardboard boxes and bowed his head against the sudden gust of air as Archie opened the door. They stooped to get under the low door frame, before walking purposefully up the slope towards the front of the large, brick building. Archie knocked as loudly as he could on the flaking front door, and then stood back with Ernest as they waited.

Soon enough, a man around the same age as Ernest opened the door. He was wearing a baggy T-shirt with messy brown hair, and looked slightly clueless.

'Hello?' he shouted through the violent noise of the wind.

Archie stepped forward. 'May we come in?' he called. The other man nodded and gestured inside, a slightly worried expression on his face. Once the door was safely shut, Archie began to speak more quietly.

'Are the children of Eagle House staying here?'

'And you are?' the man asked.

'Oh, sorry. I'm Professor Archibald Liege, headmaster of Hogwarts School. This is Professor Ernest Lear, my deputy.' he explained. The man's face relaxed.

'And I'm Dylan Ebbs, Assistant Director of Eagle House.'

Archie smiled. 'Excellent. Is Oscar Spearman staying here?'

Mr Ebbs nodded as though he expected this. 'Of course. You want to talk to him about your school?'

Archie exchanged a glance with Ernest. 'Yes, if that's alright.'

Mr Ebbs lead the way up some notably creaky wooden stairs to the second floor of the hostel. The walls were yellowing and the ceiling was littered with cracks. The three men walked down the corridor towards the end room, number ninety seven.

'He's in here?' Ernest asked, gesturing to the door. Mr Ebbs nodded.

'When you're finished talking just let me know. I'll be downstairs.' he replied. As soon as Mr Ebbs disappeared down the corridor Ernest looked suspiciously at Archie.

'I'm surprised he didn't make more of a fuss.'

'I have no idea. Let's talk to Oscar.' Archie decided, and knocked quietly on the door.

**A/N: If you want to read more, please review :) Check out my blog on google - 'writing under these lights in my room' **

**Thanks for reading :)**


	2. An Unusual Visit

**A/N: Sorry this took sooo long, I was developing the plot rather than writing - updates for this will come slowly but I hope you like it!**

2. An Unusual Visit

A very small boy answered, opening the door slowly. He was skinny with messy brown hair, and wide dark green eyes. He did not blink once as he stared up at the two men.

'Good evening, Oscar.' Ernest greeted him with a friendly smile.

'Hello, sirs.' Oscar replied cautiously.

'May we come in?' Archie asked, before brushing past the boy and striding into the dark and cramped space.

'My name is Professor Ernest Lear, and this is Professor Archibald Liege.' Ernest explained to Oscar, as he followed Archie inside.

'But you may call me Professor Liege.' Archie said, turning with a grin.

'Alright then, Professors.' Oscar said quietly as he sat down on his narrow bed. His eyes followed them around the room. His expression seemed to be an unnerving combination of tiredness and the trace of hope. Archie stood opposite him with his hands shoved into his deep robe pockets. Ernest leant in the corner of the room, staring out of the grimy window.

'We would like to talk to you about our school, Oscar.' said Archie, unblinking as he stared back at the boy. 'And there is something of importance that you need to know.'

Oscar gave no indication that he found this statement significant as he watched Archie with round eyes. Archie ploughed on determinedly. 'You are a wizard.'

Ernest's head turned sharply to see Oscar's reaction to this, but the boy looked merely puzzled.

'What do you mean, sir?' he asked, glancing from one man to the other as if searching for something that would tell him they were lying.

'I am the Headmaster of a School of Wizardry. A school which you have been registered for ever since the very day you were born.' Archie spoke with a new authority in his voice, in a tone that demanded attention and the belief of the listener. Oscar seemed to be moved slightly.

'But who could have registered me?' The question was asked in such a small, sad voice that both Archie and Ernest frowned. Of course, the boy was in an orphanage. His parents were dead, as far as he knew.

'Your parents registered you before—'Archie stopped himself just in time and looked at Oscar apologetically. He was looking straight back.

'That's alright, you can say it. I never knew them, anyway.' Oscar said, with a tiny shrug of his shoulders.

Ernest's mind was reeling with all this new information about the boy. His personality, his attitude, his sadness, his polite manners, his courage…what would he become?

'Oscar…listen to me.' Ernest began. 'Haven't you ever noticed anything different about you? Anything unusual? You were born for this. Do you understand?'

They could see his downcast eyes calculating everything they were saying.

'Yes.' he replied eventually. 'But I'm supposed to go to Greymoor School in the autumn.'

It seemed as though he was securing any loose ends, making sure that he was absolutely, most definitely a wizard.

'You were never meant to go there.' Archie told him softly. 'You belong at Hogwarts.'

There was a long silence in the room as Oscar thought. Archie continued to watch the boy, but Ernest looked away thoughtfully, trying to give him some privacy.

'Well, what do you think?' Archie asked eventually, voice filled with impatience.

'Hogwarts…' Oscar murmured to himself. 'It's a boarding school, then? I won't have to come back here?'

Neither man wanted to crush the hopefulness in Oscar's tone, but he had to know.

'You have to leave every summer. But for the rest of the year, you'll be in Hogwarts.' Archie said with optimism.

'I promise you, it isn't so bad. You never know, you could end up staying at a friend's home instead.' Ernest added.

At this, Oscar finally smiled. 'Yes, you're right…I think I want to come to Hogwarts after all.'

'Excellent! Here's your letter of acceptance, you should read that…anything else?' Archie looked to Ernest for approval, eager to leave quickly.

'Actually, there's one more thing.' said Oscar quickly. Both men turned around at the door, looking back at the boy perched at the end of his bed. His silhouette was framed by the fading light from the window behind him. 'Could I see some magic, before you leave?'

A smile crept across Archie's face and immediately the mood of their meeting lightened.

'Of course.'

Ernest pulled his wand from the inside of his jacket and paused. 'Anything in particular?'

'Just something magical.' Oscar replied, eyes glittering with anticipation and amusement.

With a wave of his wand, a thin, silvery wolf took form in front of them. The wolf was translucent and ragged, but still fiercely intimidating. It paced the room, spreading light and even glancing at Oscar briefly, before vanishing. Without so much as a goodbye, both men disappeared through the door as quickly as the wolf, leaving Oscar alone in the dark with the letter in his hands.

In the corridor outside, Archie and Ernest were arguing as they strode towards the stairs, Archie's long cloak billowing behind them as he chased the other wizard.

'Why can we not apparate?' he was asking.

'We must leave through the door. It is less suspicious.' Ernest replied abruptly, now descending the stairs at a brisk pace. As if on cue, they spotted Mr Ebbs, who seemed to be waiting at the lowest step.

'Is everything alright?' he asked.

'Absolutely. We'll be on our way, then. I'm sure Oscar will tell you what has passed.' Archie said firmly to the Assistant Director, following Ernest out of the door so quickly that he did not see Mr Ebbs look up the stairs with a strange expression on his face.

'May we apparate _now_, Ernest?' Archie demanded impatiently. Outside, the sun had melted below the horizon, leaving nothing but the clouded sky, shadowy hostel and dark, choppy waves.

'Yes. Let's leave this place.' Ernest answered, staring around them one last time before both men disapparated with loud cracks. They could not have seen Oscar watching them in wonder from his window through the gloom of the night.

When they reappeared, they were back where they had started at the very beginning of the day; in a circular office filled with interesting metal instruments that shone in the glow of the lamps lining the stone walls.

'That's it, then.' Archie said with a sigh, running one hand over the oak desk at the centre of the room.

'Everyone has their letter.' Ernest nodded, making his way towards the door of the room. There was a lot of clutter on the floor; books, quills and ink were stacked in piles everywhere. Just before he left, he turned back to watch as an owl settled gracefully on Archie's arm.

'Remember what I told you.' said Archie, his voice carrying across the messy space.

'About the year ahead?'

'These first years…this autumn…it's going to be tough for us.' he muttered, more to himself.

'They will be the most talented year to come into Hogwarts so far.' Ernest said thoughtfully.

'And that talent will surely be difficult to nurture.'

Ernest sighed, turning the door handle.

'The potential is outstanding – whether we have the ability to help them reach it, is questionable.'

'We will do our best, because that is all we can do.' Archie answered with a smile. Ernest dipped his head.

'You know, Archie, you might yet make an honourable Headmaster.'

And with that final statement, he left the room.

**A/N: Please review if you liked it and want more :)**


	3. The Top of the Tower

**A/N: This is the third chapter, but I don't know if anyone's actually reading this so please review!**

3. The Top of the Tower

Oscar awoke with a start, blinking the pale sunshine into his eyes. His surroundings were unfamiliar – he was in a narrow room with a small window, peeling papered walls and a wooden chest of drawers. After a moment, Oscar's gaze came to rest upon the letter lying at the end of his bed. It stirred a memory in him, and the events of the previous night came rushing back. The thick envelope was just evidence that it had not been a dream.

He sat up in bed, rubbing his hair to flatten it. There was a sudden desire in him to read the contents of the letter. Yesterday evening he had been almost apprehensive, but now it was time. He found himself holding the envelope, and slid the letter out carefully.

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY_

_Headmaster: Archibald Liege_

_(International Confed. of Wizards)_

_Dear Mr Spearman,_

_ We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_ Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Ernest Lear  
Deputy Headmaster_

Oscar's mind was reeling with questions. He curiously pulled out the other pieces of paper from the envelope. One was the book and equipment list, while the other seemed to be a handwritten note.

_Dear Oscar,_

_I'm sorry about all the confusion. You don't need to send an owl because we visited you. Find The Leaky Cauldron in London to buy all necessary items, including a wand. Enclosed is your train ticket._

_Prof. Archibald Liege_

Oscar scanned the note. He found the Headmaster's lack of organisation quite funny. Luckily, he would be back in London in two weeks, so hopefully it would not be too difficult to find The Leaky Cauldron. But two weeks was quite a long time to survive out here on this island, trapped with the rest of the non-magic folk. Maybe once he got all his equipment in London he would be able to stay at a hotel rather than go back to Eagle House.

There was a loud knock at the door, followed by poor Mr Ebbs calling all of the children down to breakfast. Oscar felt sorry for Mr Ebbs having to do everything that Mr Bales didn't want to do.

Oscar gathered up all the bits of strangely thick paper and shoved them deep into the backpack lying under his bed. He wasn't entirely sure what they were all going to do here for two weeks, but he was absolutely sure that if he was late for breakfast there would be consequences. Oscar quickly dressed and glanced out of the window to check the weather. The spot on the grass below him, where Professor Liege and Professor Lear had disappeared the previous night, caught his eye. In the daylight he could hardly imagine that ever happening again. Through the door to his room came the sounds of children moving down the corridor, so he turned away and followed the crowd down to breakfast.

The kitchen of the hostel was small, so everyone had to squeeze to fit at the table. Despite the amount of time Oscar spent close to these people, he felt distant from all of them. He knew that Mr Bales couldn't even remember his surname. Oscar himself could name everybody eating with him, but he had hardly spoken to most of them. The trick to enduring Eagle House, in his opinion, was to keep quiet. At his old school, which he had just finished at, there was no one who he would keep in contact with. The people were simply not very interesting. Professor Liege and Professor Lear, on the other hand…Oscar ate through his bowl of cereal slowly, his mind faraway with dreams of magic, until someone interrupted.

'Er - Oscar…is there anything you want to tell me about last night?'

He looked to his right, where Mr Ebbs was suddenly sitting, watching him slightly awkwardly. It was strange for Oscar as well, because they rarely spoke.

'Oh, sorry. I should've said.' Oscar began.

'That's alright, I know about the school. Are you going?'

Oscar watched him almost suspiciously. Did he know about the magic?

'Yeah, I'm going, if that's okay.' he said.

'That's great.' Mr Ebbs said, and Oscar could not decipher the conflicted expression crossing his face. 'Great.' he repeated.

Oscar decided it was best to just keep eating his cereal.

'And in London, you need to get some things, don't you?' Mr Ebbs continued after a pause.

'How did you know?' Oscar couldn't help himself asking.

'Oh – er – the teachers told me, and gave me the address. I'll give it to you later, but I can't go with you.' he replied.

'Er, thanks.' said Oscar, surprised at his longest conversation with Mr Ebbs. So much was changing.

'Alright. Enjoy your breakfast.' Mr Ebbs said, patting the table awkwardly, before getting up and moving back to his previous seat. Everyone else was still talking; it was still loud and cramped in the room. Some more time passed, and then Mr Bales announced a trip to the beach for the day.

* * *

The fortnight passed without event. Everything was back to normal; except Oscar could hardly stop thinking about wizards, and this was his first time away from Eagle House. Mr Ebbs did not speak to him again, although he seemed to have told Mr Bales about the school, because Bales remembered Oscar's full name on the register two days later. As usual, Oscar was part of the background and nobody spoke to him. He did not mind; he was wrapped up in his thoughts and he had nothing to say to the people around him. But on the final day of the two week stay, something happened that Oscar and everyone else would remember for years after.

They were visiting an old castle; it was one of their only trips away from the hostel. The castle was half ruined, with only a tower still standing in the centre. It was a misty day, and fog clung to the mossy stones like a disease. Most of the group cut across the grass instead of walking on the path, because they were all eager to be the first up to the top of the tower. Oscar stuck to the path and walked slightly behind everyone, scuffing his shoes on the gravel. The area was quite quiet except for the shouts of the children, as though the mist was smothering any other sound. Someone's voice cut through the air in front of Oscar, which he noticed because they were actually calling at him.

'Hey, Spearman!'

He looked up. It was a group of older boys. Oscar had never spoken to most of them. Before he could reply, another one yelled at him.

'Are you dumb or something? Can you even speak?'

'What an idiot,' the first boy said, shaking his head.

'What do you want?' asked Oscar. He knew this was a bad idea but he had also been expecting an attack like this at some point and he didn't want another one. He noticed that Mr Ebbs and Mr Bales were unfortunately preoccupied with dealing with the younger children.

'He speaks!' mocked one of the others. The first boy made a rude gesture with his finger, so Oscar chose to ignore them as usual.

'Bloody moron.'

That was it for Oscar. He made the sign back at the boys, which was just what they needed to charge at him. Oscar had seen them bashing up other boys who were older than him, so he knew that he shouldn't let them catch him. He turned away and rushed across the grass, scrambling behind a particularly large group of rocks.

Before he could even think about what would happen next, blood pounding in his veins, he blinked and found himself looking down at his pursuers. A long way down. They were tiny.

Oscar started and tried to find a handhold, as he realised where he was. He was crouching in the same position as before, except he was balancing on the wall surrounding the roof of the tower. As he stared down in horror, swaying, people began to point up to him, crying out.

Oscar numbly found the stone wall with his hand and held on; managing to shove himself backwards so he landed sprawled on the roof. The first children were only just reaching the top of the tower, their shocked faces peering up at him from the steps inside.

The next fifteen minutes passed quickly as they all left the castle hurriedly, everyone struggling to comprehend what they had just witnessed. Oscar spoke to no one. The older boys were just trying to avoid him now. As they waited for the local bus to get back to the hostel, Oscar could hear everyone discussing him in murmurs.

Mr Ebbs turned to him with a wry smile.

'What?' Oscar asked uneasily.

'Well, I think we can safely say that you won the race to the top of the tower.'


	4. Into The Wizarding World

**A/N: Sorry for the pause, but i'm finished with exams now! Thank you sooooo much to Potterhead016 for reviewing, that was so nice of you :)**

4. Into the Wizarding World

Within the next few nights, Oscar found himself standing on the pavement in front of Eagle House with only a backpack slung across one shoulder and a large coin in his hand. Mr Ebbs had sent him outside with the address of The Leaky Cauldron and the coin, promising him that a bus would come if he waited for it. Oscar was slightly confused as to why he should be waiting on the street in front of Eagle House, because there was no bus stop there. The sky was darkening slowly, but Oscar wasn't cold in his T-shirt because it was August and the air was heavy with warmth. He wondered how long it would take before this bus to Central London came along. Maybe it was one of those hail-and-ride ones. He peered down the road, but he couldn't see anything except the orange sunset. The coin in his hand was getting heavy. It was huge, gold and round.

Something flashed with bright light into his eyes, and he assumed it was a reflection of light on the coin. But then suddenly there was a screech of tires on tarmac and a triple decker, vibrantly purple bus hurtled into existence as Oscar leapt backwards. He had never seen anything like it. As it wheezed to a stop slightly further past him on the road, a girl hopped out of the back, wearing a purple uniform to match the bus.

'Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board, and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Sorcha Aiken and I will be your conductor this evening.'

Oscar stared in surprise. This had to be the strangest thing that had ever happened in all of Northwood. Sorcha Aiken finished her speech and looked over at him. 'Well?'

'Well, what?' he asked automatically.

'Aren't you getting on, then?' she replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Oscar could not quite recognise her accent. He remembered what she had said…_emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard_…this bus would take him to London. He was sure of it.

'Yeah, I am.' he said decisively, shifting his backpack higher up his shoulder before approaching cautiously.

'Thank you,' Sorcha said professionally, taking the gold coin from his hand and stuffing it into a pouch on her belt. Oscar guessed it was the fare for the bus. As he stepped up onto the bus, he glanced back to see shadows growing over the front of Eagle House. The children's home was angular and dusty, and he would not miss it. But he did wonder where Mr Ebbs had got the strange coin from. Excitement took over him – this would be his second time out of Northwood ever. This had been the most eventful summer of his whole life.

'Ready to go?' Sorcha asked, dragging him through the door of the bus and away from the view. The bus jerked to a start, throwing the pair of them against one window. They struggled to stand, and Oscar finally got a look at the surroundings inside the bus. It was set out like a normal café, with tables and chairs, some armchairs and dim lighting. There was a massive chandelier swinging dangerously high above, from the far away ceiling of the second floor of the bus. He could see the edges of four poster beds behind the balcony above.

'How –' he began, but Sorcha was pulling him by the arm over to the nearest seat.

'Sit down, there you go.' she said, handing him a folded menu. 'Ask me if you want anything to eat.'

Oscar had one thousand questions swirling in his mind, and ended up settling on the least important one.

'Where are you from?' he blurted out. She looked back with an amused smirk.

'Northern Ireland.' she replied. 'Where are you going?'

Oscar paused. He had assumed that this bus had set destinations, but then again it was a bus for wizards. Rummaging in his pocket, he replied quickly.

'The Leaky Cauldron. I have the address…It's in Central London.'

This time Sorcha actually laughed. 'Believe me, lad, everyone in the wizarding world knows where The Leaky Cauldron is.'

He couldn't think of how to reply to this. 'So how long will it take to get there?'

'We'll arrive before darkness falls.' she said, before moving away to the driver's section at the front of the bus. Oscar looked out of the window pane on his left. Everything was rushing past at such blurring speed that he could hardly decipher anything at all. Or perhaps they were already out of Northwood altogether. At any rate, it seemed as though darkness would fall very soon, so he guessed that The Leaky Cauldron would be one of the next stops.

After a couple of minutes the scenery changed from wide motorways to narrower streets, surrounded by buildings that stretched for the sky. Oscar caught glimpses of people, too, milling around on the pavement. He wondered how they couldn't see this huge, bright vehicle moving past them at a million miles per hour. But they weren't magical.

Lights were switching on in windows outside, and streetlamps were flickering on. Just as night fell over London, the Knight Bus lurched to a halt in a derelict alleyway.

'We 'ave arrived at Tha Leaky Cauldron!' shouted the driver in his strong Yorkshire accent. Several people were standing up in the bus, gathering their belongings. Oscar shouldered his rucksack and looked outside curiously. There were no shops on this alleyway.

'We always drop people off by the back entrance.' Sorcha told him as he got off, after noticing his puzzled expression. 'The front way is for pedestrians.'

Oscar nodded. 'Thank you,' he said, following an elderly witch dressed in a veil. He found himself standing in the centre of a mixed crowd of older magical folk, all waiting as a middle-aged wizard knocked on a battered wooden door. Not more than a moment later, the door opened and Oscar was overwhelmed by the scent of delicious cooking and a crackling fire.

'Come on in, everybody, come in.'

He shuffled forward as the crowd passed single file through the door and into The Leaky Cauldron. Inside it was very warm, with several long oak tables and a bar, and a smoky atmosphere in a comforting, homely sort of way. The fireplace in the corner was filled with leaping flames, and there were several chickens spit roasting over it. Although the place was not very large, it was packed with people eating, drinking and laughing raucously. Oscar felt very out of place among all the adults.

There was one woman behind the bar who had let them inside, and Oscar thought he should approach her because she seemed to be in charge.

'Excuse me?' he called over the top of the bar. The woman looked down at him with a smile as she poured out a caramel coloured liquid into a tankard.

'Well hello there, young man.' Her voice was soft and pleasant. She had curly, golden hair pulled back into a bun, and a kind face. Oscar estimated her to be in her early forties.

'Er, I'm looking for a place to stay until September 1st.' he said hopefully. She seemed to take pity on the small boy with a frowning expression that was far too old for his face.

'There's a room you could stay in here, dear. I presume you're a Muggle born, then?' she asked.

'I'm a what?' he questioned, momentarily side-tracked.

'You have non-wizard parents?'

'Oh – actually, I'm parentless. I didn't want to stay at the children's home any longer.' Oscar explained, and then noticing her worried face, added 'but don't worry, I never knew them. It's fine.'

'Oh, dear. What's your name, son?' she asked, giving him a sad smile.

'Oscar Spearman.' he replied.

'Spearman…I'm Hannah, Hannah Abbot. I'm the landlady here. Well, then. We certainly have a room for you here.'

Oscar hesitated. 'There's just one thing.'

'Yes?'

'I don't exactly have any money. I don't know if wizard money is different to – er – Muggle money, but I don't have any of either.' he rushed to explain, expecting her to send him out on the street. Instead, she smiled.

'Don't worry. You say your surname is Spearman?' Hannah confirmed.

'Yeah, it is.' he said, wondering what that had anything to do with anything.

'Well, I have some news for you. Your father at least, was not Muggle born. I remember him from my time at Hogwarts. He was quite a few years younger than me, but all the same, your surname is memorable.'

'You knew my father?' Oscar asked, unable to process what was happening. He had never known his father, so to him it seemed hardly real that he could actually have one.

'Well, I knew of him. The point is, he will have left a safe at Gringotts. I'll take you there tomorrow morning, if I have time.'

'What's Gringotts?' he asked cluelessly, feeling desperately vulnerable in this new world.

'Oh, silly me! It's the wizarding bank. So you'll be able to get some money. Don't you worry. I'll show you to your room now.' Hannah answered calmly, smiling down at him.

'Oh, right. Thank you so much, Hannah.' he said as he followed her up some stairs at the side of the room, away from the bustling dinner.

'You're very grown up for a young boy.' she said insightfully.

'Thanks, I suppose?' Oscar replied unsurely. She laughed and stopped outside one of the doors in the corridor.

'Here you are; number thirteen. I'll bring you up some supper once you're all settled in.' she unlocked the door with a large rusting key from her belt before handing it to him. 'As I said, it's not much, dear, but I do hope it's enough.'

Oscar pushed open the door and stepped inside. It was small but comfortable, with a four poster bed, honey yellow duvet and a low wooden ceiling. There was a window near the door.

'More than enough.' he said with a smile, as he admired the view over the cobblestoned street below.

**A/N: Please review :)**


	5. The Wand Maker

**A/N: Sorry I meant to put this up last night, but in compensation it's lonnnggg! Hope you like it :)**

5. The Wand Maker

Oscar had around two weeks before September 1st of what would have been boredom, but it wasn't because he was staying in The Leaky Cauldron. It turned out that the shops where he could buy everything for Hogwarts were just behind the inn, on Diagon Alley.

On the first day of his stay, Hannah Abbott left her post as bartender to guide Oscar through. She pointed out each of the eclectic mix of shops and stalls, greeting various witches and wizards as she went, before they reached their destination near the very end of the Alley. It was a tall, leaning structure, all white marble and pillars, with peeling gold lettering that spelt 'GRINGOTTS'. They stood outside, staring up at the bank.

'Here we are!' Hannah smiled down at him. She was always beaming cheerfully. 'Just so you're aware, Oscar, there are some quite strange creatures in here.'

'What do you mean?' he asked, squinting up at her.

'Well, the desks are manned by goblins. It's always a shock, the first time seeing a magical creature, even to wizard born children.' Hannah replied. 'I still remember the first time I saw them.'

'Don't worry, I'll manage.' said Oscar with a grin. They climbed up the pale steps and walked through the wide doors, footsteps echoing on the stone floor. A message was carved high onto a second set of silver doors in front of them, and Oscar strained his eyes to read it.

_Enter, stranger, but take heed,  
Of what awaits the sin of greed  
For those who take, but do not earn,  
Must pay most dearly in their turn,  
So if you seek beneath our floors,  
A treasure that was never yours,  
Thief, you have been warned, beware  
Of finding more than treasure there._

'What –' he began to ask, but Hannah was quicker.

'This is the safest place in all the wizarding world.' she replied. 'Robbing it would be an absolute disaster. There are _dragons._'

Oscar's eyebrows lifted in amazement, hardly able to believe all this. But then his attention was drawn away from her face towards the activity in the large room ahead of them. It was the shape of a hall or a church, with a high, rounded ceiling and delicate windows high up the walls. The architecture of the place, however, was nothing to the goblins themselves. They perched on tall stools, peering over the top of polished desks that lined either side of the room. He watched one weighing clusters of precious stones on metal scales, and another examining what seemed to be a large golden key.

'Come on, Oscar!' Hannah exclaimed in a hushed voice. It wasn't very busy, so several of the nearest goblins heard and looked up. He hurriedly followed behind her as they approached a particularly old looking goblin. He had pointed ears, small eyes, powdery skin and a small amount of wispy hair.

'Hello,' Oscar nodded politely, slightly wary of looking him directly in the eye. Unfortunately he didn't receive a greeting in return. The goblin stared him down before slowly turning his head to glare at Hannah instead, as she was the adult. Unlike Oscar, she wasn't intimidated.

'My name is Tornuk. How may I help you?'

'Hello, Tornuk. I'm here to inquire about Oscar here's vault.'

'His vault, eh? And does this…Oscar have his key?' asked the goblin. His voice was rasping and nasal, and he drew out the 'a' in Oscar's name.

'Well, that's what we have to ask about. He's an…orphan,' Hannah said tentatively, as she glanced at Oscar briefly. He gave her a quick smile of encouragement. 'But I happen to remember his father attending Hogwarts School with me. So we were wondering if Oscar could access his father's vault.'

Tornuk lifted a feathered quill and wrote something down, before looking back down his long, crooked nose at them.

'And what is Oscar's last name?' he asked suspiciously.

'Spearman,' said Oscar, speaking up at last.

'Alright…One moment, please.'

The goblin disappeared behind the desk as Oscar and Hannah exchanged a glance. After one long, scary minute in which Oscar worried that he wouldn't be able to go to Hogwarts after all, Tornuk returned.

'Well, well, well. Mr Spearman,' he intoned.

Oscar waited. It seemed as though it would be good news.

'Indeed, your father did have a vault here at Gringotts.'

Hannah looked at Oscar; her eyes alight as if to say _I told you so_! She turned back to Tornuk.

'Perfect! So can we get some money out, then?'

'You may,' Tornuk inclined his head, 'and Mr Spearman, here is your key.'

He stretched out his bony hand over the edge of the desk, passing the key down to Oscar. It was heavy in his hand.

'Thank you, sir.'

The trace of a smile flickered across Tornuk's wrinkled face, and then Hannah was dragging Oscar across the hall. They stopped at the other end, where some tall double doors loomed in front of them. Another goblin emerged from the doors and Oscar noticed how short they really were.

'Hello. My name is Ragnor.'

Ragnor only just reached Oscar's waist. He carried a huge metal lantern that was almost the size of him, and was dressed much more simply than Tornuk.

'Vault number, please?' he inquired, voice just as nasal as Tornuk's.

Oscar ran his eyes over the golden key in his hand. Three tiny numbers were engraved on the handle.

'Number 651,' he read to Ragnor, glancing at him to make sure that was right.

'Follow me, please,' Ragnor replied as he turned away from them and slipped through one of the doors.

They travelled in a cart deep down into the earth; rattling along thin rails suspended above caverns and outcrops of jagged rock. Oscar was wondering more about how the cart was moving so quickly, rather than where the puffs of smoke below were coming from, but he assumed it was just magic. Eventually their journey ended as the cart jerked to a halt at the very end of a track. On either side of them Oscar could just about see circular stone arches through the gloom, each centred by a large door. The lighting was dim and it smelled like the damp underground.

'Key, please,' Ragnor asked when he was standing in front of the final door. Oscar handed it to him, exchanging a look with Hannah. He had absolutely no idea what to expect. She gave him an encouraging smile. Ragnor advanced to a keyhole in the door that Oscar had not noticed before, and turned the key in the lock. Without a sound, the thick vault door swung open towards them as they took a step back.

Hannah craned her neck to see around him as Oscar walked forward. He wasn't sure what this meant; what he was seeing. There was a small pile of gold, silver and bronze coins heaped near the back of the vault. The rest of the space was just cobwebs and darkness and dust.

'How many do I take?' Oscar asked abruptly, looking to Hannah for assistance.

'Not too many,' she replied cautiously, 'only a bit from that corner there.'

He had a feeling that the amount of money here wasn't worth much, especially as he got back into the cart and caught a slight look of pity in both Hannah and Ragnor's eyes.

'Can I get a job here, or something?' questioned Oscar as he and Hannah strolled back down Diagon Alley towards The Leaky Cauldron. She had to return to her shift at the bar, and so Oscar was to go shopping for books and everything by himself the very next day.

'A job, well, of course. But you have to be sixteen to earn money, I'm afraid.'

Oscar could tell from the look in her eyes that she was feeling sorry for him.

'So where could I get one, when I turn sixteen?'

'You'll have to just try everywhere on the Alley, asking for jobs. I would offer you one, but I'm not sure if we'll even still be around then.'

'I think you will be,' said Oscar with a smile. 'There aren't any other pubs or inns around here for our kind of folk.'

He didn't know if there were any other pubs like The Leaky Cauldron in the world, but he was just glad to be including himself as one of the magical folk. Hannah seemed deep in thought.

'I do count as a wizard, don't I?' he interrupted quickly.

'Oh, I almost forgot! We really should get you a wand today. That's the moment when you'll really feel like a wizard.'

Oscar couldn't refuse that offer. 'But are you sure you won't be too late for your shift?'

'Neville will be fine for another few minutes. Hopefully this won't take too long.' she replied with a smile.

'I just choose a wand, don't I?'

'It's a little more complicated than that. But you'll see. I don't want to ruin anything!'

He couldn't help grinning at the animated look dancing in her eyes. They changed course, turning right into a dark old shop that seemed much too understated for somewhere that sold wands. Inside, the only light came filtering through the front window, casting a dingy glow over the rows and rows of shelves ahead of them. A shadowy figure moved slowly towards them down one of the corridors of boxes. The old man paused as he emerged, blinking into the sunlight.

'You, boy…are you a Spearman?'

His voice carried across the silent room, although it shook slightly. Oscar didn't look at Hannah this time.

'Yes, sir.'

The man seemed to recoil slightly, before recovering. Oscar watched him carefully with narrowed eyes.

'I suppose you're here to purchase a wand, then.'

'That's right, sir, but what did you mean before?'

It was as though Hannah was actually no longer present in the room.

'It is of no matter. I am Mr Ollivander.' countered the man evenly. Oscar continued to watch him.

'Do you know my family?' he asked.

'Let's try…this wand.' said Ollivander, lifting a narrow box out of the nearest shelf. 'Give it a wave.'

Oscar took the wand and waved it, his attention focused on what Ollivander had previously said. The boxes on the shelf closest to him blew onto the floor in an explosion of tissue paper, boxes, lids and sticks.

'Not that one, then!' exclaimed Ollivander over the racket. He was surprisingly agile despite his old age, quickly finding another wand box to preoccupy Oscar with. This time a silver birdcage balanced on the desk shattered into tiny fragments. Ollivander seemed unsurprised, waving his own wand and vanishing the shards of metal.

'Mr Ollivander, I'm entitled to know anything you know about my family.' Oscar called firmly as the man shuffled boxes down a farther row. Ollivander reappeared around a corner.

'My dear boy, secrets are in the world for a reason.' he replied, before withdrawing again.

'Secrets are lies, sir.' Oscar answered when Ollivander returned again, with yet another thin box.

'Some lies are necessary, Oscar.'

'I don't remember telling you my name.'

'Try this wand.' Ollivander interrupted, forcing the box into his hands.

Oscar lifted it from the tissue paper in the box and immediately knew it was right. The room seemed to grow warmer, less musty and much brighter as the tip of the wand shimmered with light.

'Well that's one thing sorted.' Ollivander remarked, replacing the wand in the box. 'That's elm with a core of dragon heartstring, supple enough and eleven-and-a-half inches.'

'Woah, thank you, sir.' Oscar said, finally distracted as he paid the wand maker.

'And a very good day to you, Oscar Spearman.' said Ollivander as he practically pushed the pair of them out of the shop. He seemed to be two hundred years old, but with the energy of a young adult. Oscar felt Hannah's worried eyes watching him as they stumbled outside and back up the cobbled street.

**A/N: Please review :)**


	6. A Series Of Conversations

**A/N: Here's the new chapter :) Hope you enjoy it!**

6. A Series of Conversations

The next day, Oscar ate an inexpensive breakfast at The Leaky Cauldron, courtesy of Hannah and Neville, before taking his small money bag, wand and equipment list outside onto Diagon Alley. It was quite a warm day, and sunshine reflected off the cobbled stones, slick with rain from the previous night. There were still very few people wandering around, and Oscar wondered where to start.

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY_

Uniform  
_First-year students will require:_

_1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)  
2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear  
3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)  
4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)_

_Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags_

Set Books  
_All students should have a copy of each of the following:_

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) _by Miranda Goshawk  
_A History of Magic _by Bathilda Bagshot  
_Magical Theory _by Adalbert Waffling  
_A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration _by Emeric Switch  
_One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi _by Phyllida Spore  
_Magical Drafts and Potions _by Arsenius Jigger  
_Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them _by Newt Scamander  
_The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection _by Quentin Trimble_

Other Equipment

_1 wand  
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)  
1 set glass or crystal phials  
1 telescope  
1 set brass scales_

_Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad_

_PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST-YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS_

The first shop to catch his gaze was _Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions_, mostly because of the vibrantly coloured store front, which looked as though it had been recently repainted a bright red. He stepped inside, blinking sunspots out of his vision in the darker interior. Almost immediately, a squat witch with grey curly hair hurried over. Oscar assumed that she was Madame Malkin, and he was entirely correct.

'Well hello there, son. What might I do for you today? I am Madame Malkin,' she said with a brief, busy smile, running her eyes over his battered Muggle clothes.

'Er, I'm going to Hogwarts in September, and I was hoping to buy some uniform-'

'Of course, of course! Over here,' she said, rushing him over to a small stool. 'I have a few other customers to deal with quickly.'

Oscar stepped up onto the stool, feeling rather foolish as a long tape measure unrolled and began measuring him by itself. There were two other children also there, a boy and a girl, and he could tell that they were siblings because they had the same strikingly navy blue eyes.

'What's your name?' asked the boy. He was a few years older than Oscar, with straight brown hair. This was the first Hogwarts student Oscar had ever seen.

'I'm Oscar. Who are you?' he said, referring to the pair of them.

'I'm Joseph Lucas, and this is my sister, Ella-May.' he replied, gesturing to the younger girl.

'Are you going to be a first year?' Ella-May Lucas asked him. She had wavy, dirty blonde hair and a heart shaped face. Her lips were shaped like a cherub's, all puffy and pink, which made her expression look naturally rather sullen.

Oscar nodded. Her mouth stretched into a small smile.

'Me, as well.'

'I'm going into third year.' Joseph added. 'Are you a Muggle?'

'Er, I don't really know. My dad was a wizard. I don't know about my mum,' said Oscar almost apologetically.

'Say you're a half-blood, then. You're going to love Hogwarts.' said Joseph.

'To be honest, I don't know much about it yet. Except that it's a magic school.'

Both Joseph and Ella-Mae cracked similar smiles.

'You should buy _Hogwarts, A History_ at the bookshop.' she offered.

'That's not on the booklist, though, and I'm not sure I have enough money as it is.' Oscar shrugged.

'Well you can have mine,' interrupted Joseph, 'I finished it ages ago and I don't need it.'

'Thanks, but that's alright, I'm sure I'll manage.' he replied, smiling gratefully.

'No, honestly. I'll give it to you once we've bought our robes. I was going to give it away anyway.'

'Thank you so much.' said Oscar, slightly embarrassed at his own helplessness.

* * *

After buying the new uniform from Madame Malkin, Oscar bought all of his school books from _Flourish and Blotts_ without incident, but it was difficult to carry everything. Fortunately, he spotted an old wizard on Diagon Alley attempting to sell a second hand Hogwarts trunk, which he immediately bought for a low price to carry all these new things. He had never had this many things to call his own before.

All that he needed now was a cauldron, glass phials, a telescope and a set of brass scales. What would they need a telescope for? What would Hogwarts be like, anyway? He had absolutely no idea. Spotting a colourful sign depicting _Flora Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour_, Oscar decided to sit down for a bit and read some of Joseph's _Hogwarts, A History_. He could get some ice cream to eat, as well, seeing as it was lunch time.

There was a girl, with dark red hair that glinted in the sunlight, standing behind the front desk of the ice cream shop. Oscar approached, dragging the heavy trunk behind him. She was looking behind her, back into the shop, her cheek lifted as she laughed at something. He leant the trunk against one of the chairs and began counting his money.

'Hello! Can I help you?' called the girl. Oscar looked up and across at her, having added up the money.

'Can I buy an ice cream, please?' he asked, walking over with the jangling money bag.

'Sure you can. What's your name?'

'Er, I'm Oscar.' he replied confusedly.

'Oh, don't worry, Oscar. We have this new ice cream maker and it makes whatever you would like most. It can tell by your name. I'm Lucy, by the way.' she said as she busied herself with stacking ice cream cones onto a holder and pulling out her wand.

'But will I be able to afford it?' he asked ashamedly.

'You get a discount, 'cause you're young. Are you a new Hogwarts first year?'

'Yeah, I start in September. I was just going to read _Hogwarts, A History_ so I know a bit about the place.' he said.

'Good idea. If you have any questions, just ask me or Liam. We're both going into our fourth year.' she grinned, gesturing to a boy who had suddenly appeared next to her. He had wild curly blonde hair and the look of someone who had just grown a lot.

'Hello, Oscar.' he said with a wink. 'Your ice cream is awesome, just to warn you.'

Oscar laughed. 'Thanks. Everyone I've met from Hogwarts so far is really nice.'

'Not everyone is as cool as us! Prepare yourself.' Liam wiggled his eyebrows.

'But most people are.' Lucy added, giving Liam a look. 'You'll love Hogwarts, everyone always does.'

Oscar smiled widely as Lucy handed him two scoops of double chocolate ice cream, topped with dark chocolate sprinkles, tiny gold stars and a 'Honeydukes' swirl.

'Enjoy, Oscar. Hey, do you know about the Hogwarts Houses yet?' Liam asked.

'The what?' questioned Oscar, imagining that maybe there were some houses surrounding the school.

'Oh, well, there are four Houses. Which you get Sorted into.' Liam explained.

'And we're both in Gryffindor.' Lucy smiled.

'So you better get in Gryffindor too, mate!' Liam laughed as Oscar paid.

'I'll try.' he replied amusedly, not really understanding what they were talking about at all.

'Have fun!' Lucy called as he sat down outside, balancing the giant ice cream in one hand and the large book in the other.

He began reading _Hogwarts, A History_ and couldn't rip his eyes away from the pages for the rest of the afternoon. Lucy and Liam finished their shift and said a cheerful goodbye to him, before tearing away down the Alley.

And then, the rest of his time before September 1st was spent exploring, talking to people, and gathering as much information about everything magical as was possible.

**A/N: Please review if you want to read more!**


	7. The Second Train

**A/N: Sorry for the really long delay-hope you enjoy this chapter, finally at Hogwarts :)**

7. The Second Train

Kings Cross Station was rather busy for ten thirty in the morning on a weekday. Well, Oscar had never been there before, but in his opinion there was a surprising amount of people bustling around. He was searching for Platform 9 ¾, and according to the scribbled writing on his train ticket, presumably Liege's, the platform was located between Platforms 9 and 10. That seemed fairly logical to Oscar. He found the barrier and noticed a large queue of families waiting with Hogwarts trunks. At the front of the line, children and parents were disappearing through the barrier as soon as they touched it. Most surprisingly of all, the Muggles around them seemed not to notice any of this. Oscar joined the end of the queue, lugging his massive trunk behind him. Earlier this morning he had filled it with books, quills, parchment, uniform, equipment and the few other possessions he owned, including a small amount of left over wizard money. He was wearing normal clothes, as were the other children, he noted with relief. Soon enough it was his turn and he pulled the trunk forwards, the brick wall coming closer until there was nothing there at all and he stumbled forward into another world; a crowded platform with an iron sign that read '_Platform 9 ¾_'. Steam clung to the long scarlet train waiting for him.

Magical people were so much more interesting than Muggles, he decided. Everywhere he looked there were wizards and witches wearing robes in every shade of the rainbow; children holding owls and rats; there was even someone cleaning the dirt off a boy's glasses using a magic spell.

Oscar skipped the queue for the carriage door he had reached and walked further down the train to an emptier one. He still couldn't believe the amount of people on the platform. They were all going to Hogwarts, all the children anyway. And he was going too. Finally.

Once he was standing safely on board the Hogwarts Express, Oscar found a seemingly empty compartment. It took a while because there were so many people on board already. He carefully slid open the door and went in, dragging his trunk behind him. Only, it wasn't actually empty. There was already a girl inside, crouched over her own trunk, which was why Oscar hadn't been able to see her.

'What are you doing?!' she exclaimed, straightening up and banging her head on the side of the seat as she did so. She cursed and kicked the trunk. Oscar watched, wide-eyed.

'I thought this compartment was empty…' he trailed off as she folded her arms and sat back down on the floor.

'Well…' she said, uncertain for the first time.

'Can I stay? There's barely anywhere else empty.' Oscar pleaded. The girl rolled her eyes and shrugged.

'Fine, then. You seem cool. I'm Maia. Maia Galloway.' she said, smiling at him for the first time. Maia had curly, white blonde hair that was tied back into a tiny ponytail. Her eyes were pale green.

'I'm Oscar Spearman.' he said, relieved, and sat down opposite her. She went back to searching in her trunk, frowning. 'What're you looking for?' Oscar asked.

'Wand.' she muttered, and after turning over a pair of thick purple socks, cried 'I've found it!'

Oscar smiled as she waved the wand around, causing a fountain of golden sparks to appear out of the end of it. Just as she got it under control, someone knocked at the door. Maia leapt up and pulled the sliding door open enthusiastically, obviously in a much better mood after finding her wand. She grinned back at Oscar.

'I love opening these.'

Oscar laughed and looked around her, to see a beautiful girl looking curiously inside. Maia waved at her. 'What's up?'

The girl trained her gaze on Maia. 'I'm Lana Sheridan. There's nowhere else to sit, except with older people…'

Maia grinned and tugged her inside. 'The more the merrier! I was expecting to sit out this journey alone!'

Lana sat down carefully next to Maia, looking unsurely at Oscar. He couldn't take his eyes off her. She had long, bronze-coloured hair and huge grey eyes. Just looking at her made his stomach flip, but he wasn't quite sure why. She smiled at him nervously.

'What's your name?' she asked.

'That's Oscar Spearman.' said Maia quickly. 'He burst into my compartment 'cause he didn't see me.'

Oscar frowned at her. 'I can talk, you know.' he said, glancing at Lana. 'But yeah.'

Maia laughed, and Lana spotted the wand in her hand.

'Were you doing magic?' she asked.

'Sort of…I just lost my wand briefly.' Maia giggled.

'Are you a Muggle-born, Lana? I can tell you're not.' Oscar said to Maia, who was wearing socks with broomsticks embroidered on. She also had tiny golden owl earrings in her ears, he noticed. Maia smirked, and looked at Lana.

'Yes, well, I'm a half-blood. But we live in London so my sister and I grew up as Muggles.' Lana explained.

'I grew up completely Muggle.' said Oscar. 'Is that bad?'

Maia shook her head violently. 'Nah. I have a big brother whose best mate is Muggle-born, and he's top of their year or something, I think. You'll be fine.'

'You've got us, anyway.' Lana smiled. Oscar's stomach did a back-flip, and he couldn't think of a witty reply. He just smiled back instead.

'Yeah, I can teach you everything about Hogwarts!' exclaimed Maia.

'Actually, I read _Hogwarts: A History _during the summer, so I think I know quite a lot.' said Oscar, kicking his trunk.

'Have either of you got any pets with you?' asked Lana. Oscar shook his head.

'I wanted an owl, but we didn't have enough wizard money at the time.' he explained, not completely sure why he was saying 'we' instead of 'I'.

'My brother has my owl. He said he would drop it round here later.' Maia frowned. 'Where is he?'

'I have a cat, in this box.' Lana tapped the cardboard box next to her on the seat which Oscar hadn't noticed before. He'd been a bit busy with her face.

'Aw, how cute! Can we see it?' Maia asked animatedly.

'Sure. His name is Neptune.' she said, opening the box and lifting out a smoke-grey kitten with large yellow eyes.

'I can see you're gonna be good at Astronomy.' said Maia, winking. When she saw Oscar's blank face she broke into a smile. 'It's a lesson about like planets and stuff. You'll see.'

Neptune tiptoed nervously off Lana's lap and across the seat onto Maia. Her mouth stretched into a wide smile and she tickled the kitten behind the ears. Then she passed him to Oscar, who decided he liked cats if Lana had one. He stroked it and lifted him back to Lana, who smiled. He prayed that he wasn't blushing.

Someone tapped on the compartment door, and again Maia got up to answer it. Oscar tried to avoid making a fool of himself in front of Lana.

'Anything off the trolley, dears?' asked a dumpy old witch, with grey flyaway hair. Oscar's face lit up when he saw that the trolley was piled with sweets. They weren't just any Muggle chocolate bars either; they were _Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans_ and _Chocolate Frogs_. Oscar grinned excitedly.

'Got any money? I spent my last on this hairclip. It turns into a pencil.' Maia said, pointing to a green hairclip stuck in her wispy blonde hair. Oscar shook his head regretfully, but Lana nodded and pulled out several Galleons. Both Maia and Oscar's eyes grew in wonder.

'I'll pay for all of us. This isn't my money, it's my parents' anyway.' she said hastily. Oscar and Maia shrugged and nodded; thanking her once she came back into the carriage with several shiny packets of sweets.

As they were eating, a boy came rushing into their carriage and tossed something feathery at Maia. It was Liam from the ice cream shop. She caught the owl in one hand, the other being full of chocolate.

'Take care of him this time, sis.' Liam said.

Maia grinned cheekily at him. 'You got it.'

Liam glanced around at Oscar and Lana.

'Hey, Oscar mate!' he smiled.

'Hello again,' Oscar grinned.

'Alright. Good luck with the sorting.' he laughed, and left. Oscar watched the back of his blonde head leave.

'He's in Gryffindor.' Maia announced, now tidying up the tiny tawny owl. She put him into a cage that seemed much too big for him, next to her trunk on the floor.

'I know.' Oscar said, remembering the conversation and now understanding what they had meant.

'What do you want to be in?' Lana asked Maia.

'Gryffindor!' she repeated, pushing some seeds, which she had found scattered in her trunk, into the cage.

'When do we put our robes on?' Oscar had just noticed that the sky outside had gone from pale grey to navy blue.

'Probably, now?' said Lana, glancing at Maia, who nodded.

'We can just put them on on top of our clothes.' Maia pointed out.

Almost the very minute after they finished changing, the train slowed to a stop. They grinned in anticipation at each other, and then dragged their trunks in single file out of the compartment and into the crowded corridor of the Hogwarts Express. They slowly moved off the train, grunting as they shoved their trunks off first. The sky outside was a deep navy, and the only reason Oscar could see anything at all was the evenly spaced street lamps along the platform. It looked as though it had recently rained, and the paving stones underneath their feet were slick. But after all, Oscar thought, they were meant to be in Scotland.

'First years, this way! C'mon, first years this way! Follow me!'

The three compartment-sharers turned to the sound of this loud voice. To Oscar's complete shock, the owner of the voice was a massive man with the bushiest beard and hair he had ever seen. Oscar reached to just below his waist, as they walked closer. Looking at Lana and Maia's expressions, he could see that Maia was expecting this guy but Lana had no idea why he was so big either.

'I know yeh, Maia Galloway. Yer brother's been a righ' pain over the years.' the man said to Maia, his face crinkling up in a warm smile. Oscar realised he was maybe a lot nicer than he looked. Maia winked at him.

'Liam's a pain, you're right, Hagrid.'

Hagrid smiled down at her. 'Let's just hope yeh don't turn out the same way, eh?'

Before Maia could cheekily respond, Hagrid turned around and motioned for the first years gathered around him to follow as he started walking. Oscar glanced around at all the other children.

'How many are there in each year?' Oscar asked Maia.

'About, forty odd?' she guessed, looking around as well.

'Do you know anyone else here?' Lana asked them both quietly.

'I have some cousins in our year, yeah. And I know a couple of other kids…from Quidditch games, and stuff…can't remember any names, though. You?' Maia said to Oscar.

'Nope.' he shook his head. Lana pointed discreetly to a boy with handsome features and high cheekbones. He had dark brown hair and was watching Hagrid in awe.

'I've seen him before.' Lana whispered. 'He went to the Muggle primary school opposite mine. I've never talked to him, though.'

Oscar narrowed his eyes at the boy. He didn't like the way that Lana was watching him. Her eyes looked the colour of honey when they reflected the lamps. But all too soon he was swept up in the excitement of the new first years, and as they rounded a corner to leave the train station a dark lake stretched ahead of them and Oscar forgot all about what he'd seen.

The lake was a mass of glittering black water, and at the other side he could see a castle bigger than he could have ever imagined, with pinpricks of light glinting from the windows. There was a cluster of small boats moored at their edge of the lake; large enough to fit four children in each. Hagrid stepped into one first, causing it to sink and wobble violently, but no one else could fit in his so people started to get nervously into their own boats. There were precisely enough for the whole first year – ten boats plus one for Hagrid. Oscar ended up in a boat with Maia, Lana and another boy who sat next to him. He had very short curly hair, deep brown skin and dark eyes that twinkled as much as the water beneath them.

Oscar dipped his fingers into the lake, watching them skim the surface as the boats sped along of their own accord.

'Aren't you worried about what's down there?' someone asked. Oscar frowned and looked up. The boy next to him had spoken.

'What's down there?' Oscar raised his eyebrows.

'Giant squid, merpeople with spears, grindylows…anything could come up and nibble on your fingers!' The boy's grin practically stretched up to his ears. Oscar looked carefully at him and slowly withdrew his hand.

'This is absolutely mad.' he muttered, and wiped his fingers on his trouser leg.

'You scared?' asked the boy next to him.

''Course not.' Oscar said, and began to tip the boat from side to side. The girls behind them shrieked and the boy next to him cracked up laughing.

'Oscar! Seriously, he just said there was a giant squid in here!' Lana called. Hagrid looked back at them from his boat at the front and chuckled, before turning back to look at the castle. Maia couldn't stop laughing.

'Need a hand?' asked someone, to the girls Oscar assumed. He turned to look behind him, still shaking the boat, and the boy Lana had recognised from earlier was in the boat next to them. He was trying to steady the boat with his hand. Oscar stopped shaking the side.

'It was just a joke,' he said. The boy shrugged. Oscar glared back at him, as he introduced himself to Maia and Lana. Maia was closest to him so he actually shook her hand across the gap as he spoke.

'I'm Fraser Yates. This is Aiden, er, Leonard. Who are you all?' he said, after gesturing to the small blonde haired boy next to him.

Maia smiled and introduced herself, Oscar and Lana, but when she got to the guy next to Oscar she hesitated.

'Oh, I'm Eddie Rodriguez.' he said, firing a huge grin in both Maia and Fraser's directions.

Oscar could hear Fraser starting a conversation with Maia and Lana, so he decided to talk to Eddie instead.

'I'm guessing you're pure blood then, Eddie.'

'I prefer "wizard born". But yeah, I am. And you're blatantly a Muggle,' he said.

'Not really. And not anymore. Once I step inside those gates,' Oscar motioned to the front of Hogwarts looming closer in front of them, 'I will really be a wizard.'

'Fair enough. Looking forward to the Sorting?'

Oscar swallowed. He definitely wasn't looking forward to possibly embarrassing himself in front of the entire school and staff. What if he accidentally dropped the hat, or couldn't get sorted, or the hat took ages to decide? What if he wasn't meant to be here after all? But Oscar didn't voice his thoughts.

'Yeah, I guess I am. What house d'you want to be in?' he asked.

'Don't know. Guess the hat is best at deciding. But I don't think I've got any of the qualities that each house requires…'

Eddie trailed off and Oscar was surprised, although he didn't show it. Eddie didn't seem like the worried type. He was funny, but Oscar guessed everyone was feeling nervous right now. Except one guy behind them, who was laughing and joking with Maia and Lana. Oscar's stomach curled into a ball and hid whenever he spotted Fraser saying anything to Lana.

'You got a girl problem?' Eddie whispered to Oscar as he turned around for the fifth time to watch the others. Oscar looked back at Eddie, alarm evident in his eyes.

'Is it really that obvious?'

'No, but I can guess which one it is. She's real pretty.' Eddie grinned.

'Yeah, but I probably shouldn't try anything, in case I mess it up.' Oscar frowned, then realised he had actually said what he was thinking. Eddie seemed to understand, though.

'Don't worry. Friends is a good place to be. Plus, you just met her.'

Oscar nodded thoughtfully and glanced back at the castle. They were metres from the shore. When the boats all bumped the banks of the lake, Hagrid got out of his boat and everyone else followed his example. It was quite difficult because the boats would wobble a lot whenever you stood up. Oscar wasn't sure if this was natural, or if the boats were enchanted to make this first day even more difficult for them. Hogwarts looked like an amazing place, though. They were close enough now, as they trudged up a gentle grassy slope towards the castle gates, to see into the Great Hall through some large windows.

Oscar had read all about the Great Hall so was more excited than most to see it. However, his first step inside the castle was in the flag-stoned entrance hall, after Hagrid opened the gates. There were colourful shields and many large oil paintings hung from the walls. It was eclectic and homey, and Oscar loved it.

**A/N: Please review if you want more :)**


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